Post-exposure prophylaxis vaccination rate and risk factors of human rabies in mainland China: a meta-analysis.

Rabies is one of the major public health problems in China, and the mortality rate of rabies remains the highest among all notifiable infectious diseases. A meta-analysis was conducted to investigate the post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) vaccination rate and risk factors for human rabies in mainland China. The PubMed, Web of Science, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure, Chinese Science and Technology Periodical and Wanfang databases were searched for articles on rabies vaccination status (published between 2007 and 2017). In total, 10 174 human rabies cases from 136 studies were included in this meta-analysis. Approximately 97.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) 95.1-98.7%) of rabies cases occurred in rural areas and 72.6% (95% CI 70.0-75.1%) occurred in farmers. Overall, the vaccination rate in the reported human rabies cases was 15.4% (95% CI 13.7-17.4%). However, among vaccinated individuals, 85.5% (95% CI 79.8%-83.4%) did not complete the vaccination regimen. In a subgroup analysis, the PEP vaccination rate in the eastern region (18.8%, 95% CI 15.9-22.1%) was higher than that in the western region (13.3%, 95% CI 11.1-15.8%) and this rate decreased after 2007. Approximately 68.9% (95% CI 63.6-73.8%) of rabies cases experienced category-III exposures, but their PEP vaccination rate was 27.0% (95% CI 14.4-44.9%) and only 6.1% (95% CI 4.4-8.4%) received rabies immunoglobulin. Together, these results suggested that the PEP vaccination rate among human rabies cases was low in mainland China. Therefore, standardised treatment and vaccination programs of dog bites need to be further strengthened, particularly in rural areas.

Genetic differentiation and diversity of Callosobruchus chinensis collections from China.

Callosobruchus chinensis (Linnaeus) is one of the most destructive pests of leguminous seeds. Genetic differentiation and diversity analysis of 345 C. chinensis individuals from 23 geographic populations using 20 polymorphic simple sequence repeats revealed a total of 149 alleles with an average of 7.45 alleles per locus. The average Shannon's information index was 1.015. The gene flow and genetic differentiation rate values at the 20 loci ranged from 0.201 to 1.841 and 11.0-47.2%, with averages of 0.849 and 24.4%, respectively. In the 23 geographic populations, the effective number of alleles and observed heterozygosity ranged from 1.441 to 2.218 and 0.191-0.410, respectively. Shannon's information index ranged from 0.357 to 0.949, with the highest value in Hohhot and the lowest in Rudong. In all comparisons, the fixation index (F ST ) values ranged from 0.049 to 0.441 with a total F ST value of 0.254 among the 23 C. chinensis populations, indicating a moderate level of genetic differentiation and gene flow among these populations. Analysis of molecular variance revealed that the genetic variation within populations accounted for 76.7% of the total genetic variation. The genetic similarity values between populations varied from 0.617 to 0.969, whereas genetic distances varied from 0.032 to 0.483. Using unweighted pair-group method using arithmetical averages cluster analysis, the 23 geographic collections were classified into four distinct genetic groups but most of them were clustered into a single group. The pattern of the three concentrated groups from polymerase chain reactions analysis showed a somewhat different result with cluster.

[Efficacy of sublingual immunotherapy and subcutaneous immunotherapy in children with allergic rhinitis].

Objective:To evaluate the efficacy and safety of sublingual immunotherapy(SLIT) and subcutaneous immunotherapy(SCIT) in children with pediatric allergic rhinitis.Method:This study retrospectively analyzed the efficacy and safety of SLIT and SCIT in 186 children with allergic rhinitis which induced by house dust mites.Patients were randomly divided into two groups:SLIT group consisted of 104 patients,and SCIT group consisted of 82 patients.These two groups were followed up 2 years and recorded on the following indexs including total rhinitis symptoms score(TRSS),visual analogue scale(VAS),the rhinoconjunctivitis quality of life questionnaire(RQLQ),skin index(SI),serum specific IgE(slgE), eosinophil cationic protein(ECP),peripheral eosinophil(EOS) and adverse reactions.Result:After 2-year treatment,both SLIT and SCIT groups showed significant reduction ins TRSS,VAS,RQLQ,SI and ECP compared with those before treatment (P <0.05),while there were no significant differences in sIgE of two groups compared with those before treatment(P>0.05).Besides,there were no significant differences between the two groups in TRSS,VAS,RQLQ,SI,sIgE,ECP and EOS (P >0.05) before or after treatment.There were 3 patients in SLIT group and 2 patients in SCIT group who showed adverse reactions.For the incidence of adverse reactions,the figures were 3.85% and 2.44%,respectively.No severe systemic side effects were registered in these two groups.Conclusion:Both SLIT and SCIT demonstrated the improvement of symptoms and quality of life in patients with pediatric allergic rhinitis.The therapeutic efficacy is consistent with SLIT and SCIT.Both SLIT and SCIT groups indicated significantly decrease in SI and ECP,which suggest that SI and ECP may be the potential indicators in efficacy evaluation.

Effects of silicon on seed setting rate of rice intersubspecific hybrids.

The present study found semi-sterility in rice intersubspecific hybrids of 'Taichung 65' x 'Guangluai 4' and 'Ludao' x 'Qiuguang'. Embryo sac fertility was evaluated using the overall staining transparent method. The results showed that the embryo sac contained a normal egg cell, normal synergid cells, polar nuclei cells, and antipodal cells, indicating that semi-sterility was caused mainly by pollen semi-sterility. In the pot experiment, the effects of silicon on the seed-setting rate of the two intersubspecific hybrids were examined. The results showed that the rate of anther dehiscence, number of pollen per stigma of Fl plants, potential of pollen grain germination, and fertility of the spikelet were significantly improved by the utilization of silicon fertilizer.

Ion beam transformation with corn DNA alters proteinase expression in rice seedling roots.

Corn DNA was introduced into dry seeds of rice (cv. 'YuJing-6') by ion beam irradiation. Proteinase activities in rice seedling roots were subsequently analyzed by renaturation electrophoresis at pH 4.5, 7.0, and 8.5. Proteinase activity was more pronounced on gels at higher pH. Irradiation of rice seedling roots caused the loss of some proteinase bands at all pH conditions although a novel 50-kDa band was found at both pH 7.0 and 8.5. No new proteinase activity was detected at pH 4.5. However, novel bands and bands showing stronger activity were observed at pH 7.0 and 8.5. The data indicate that the expression of proteinases in rice seedling roots was altered following low energy ion beam mediated transformation with corn DNA.

First Report of Charcoal Rot Caused by Macrophomina phaseolina on Mungbean in China.

Mungbean (Vigna radiata L.), an important leguminous food crop in China, is popularly grown in arid regions. The total area of mungbean production is 8.0 × 105 ha. In August and September 2010, wilted symptoms were observed in mungbean plants in Yulin, Shaanxi Province and Datong, Shanxi Province. Infected plants had silvery gray coloration of stems and lateral branching with senesced leaves still attached to the plant. Dark brown necrotic areas were observed on the exterior of the taproot underneath the epidermis and in the pith of the lower stems of wilted plants. Black spherical microsclerotia, 43.9 µm, were present in infected plant tissues. Six fungal isolates were cultured on potato dextrose agar at 25°C and the mycelium was initially hyaline but later became gray. Black microsclerotia, 60 to 80 × 75 to 123 µm, were observed in culture after 2 to 7 days of incubation. On the basis of field symptoms, colony color, and the size of microsclerotia, the fungus was identified as Macrophomina phaseolina (Tassi) Goid (3). To confirm the morphological identification, the rDNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions of the six isolates were amplified with universal primers ITS1 and ITS4. The resulting ITS sequences of the six isolates (GenBank Accession Nos. HQ660589, HQ660590, HQ660591, HQ660592, HQ660593, and HQ660594) were aligned in GenBank, which showed 97 to 99% identity with 60 M. phaseolina isolates (e.g., Accession Nos. GU046867, FJ415067, and FJ960441). Using the PCR primers MpKF1 (5'-CCGCCAGAGGACTATCAAAC-3') and MaKR1 (5'-CGTCCGAAGCGAGGTGTATT-3') specific for M. phaseolina (1), a 350-bp PCR fragment was obtained, indicating that these isolates were M. phaseolina. Pathogenicity tests of six isolates were performed by inoculation of 3-week-old seedlings of cv. Zhonglv 8 using the hypocotyl inoculation technique, respectively (2). Each isolate was transferred to petri dishes containing PDA 2 days prior to inoculation. On the day of inoculation, an inoculum slurry was prepared by cutting agar with the pathogen into small strips and passing the strips through a 5-syringe until uniform. A small quantity of inoculum extruded into the vertical cut in each hypocotyl of at least eight seedlings in each pot, and the PDA was used as the control to extrude into the vertical cut in each hypocotyl of at least eight seedlings in another pot. The inoculated and control plants were incubated in the mist chamber at 25°C and 90 to 100% relative humidity for 48 h before growing in a greenhouse at 30°C. Six days after inoculation, all inoculated plants, wilted or dead, showed dark brown-toblack lesions. No symptoms were observed on the control plants. For each isolate tested, M. phaseolina was reisolated from inoculated plants, but was not isolated from the control plants. The fungus has been detected in 29 plant species of 23 genera in China, including the major crops Arachis hypogaea, Helianthus annuus, and Glycine max. Although M. phaseolina has caused great yield reduction of mungbean in many areas of Asia, to our knowledge, this fungus as a causal agent of mungbean charcoal rot has not previously been reported in China. Reference: (1) B. K. Babu et al. Mycologia 99:797, 2007. (2) D. L. Pazdernik et al. Plant Dis. 81:1112, 1997. (3) G. S. Smith and T. D.Wyllie. Charcoal rot. Page 29 in: Compendium of Soybean Diseases. 4th ed. G. L. Hartmann et al., eds. The American Phytopathological Society, St. Paul, MN, 1999.

Membrane activity of (Cys48Ser) lung surfactant protein B increases with dimerisation.

One of the possible functions of lung surfactant protein B (SP-B), an hydrophobic membrane-associated saposin-like protein, is to reduce the alveolar surface tension by promoting insertion of phospholipids into the air/liquid interface of the lung. SP-B is a covalent homodimer; Cys48 of two polypeptides form an intermolecular disulphide bond. In order to test whether dimerisation of SP-B is important for surfactant function, transgenic mice which express (Cys48Ser) human SP-B in a mouse SP-B null background were generated. In previous studies (Cys48Ser)SP-B showed a concentration-dependent in vitro activity, suggesting that it may form non-covalent dimers. Here (Cys48Ser)SP-B isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage of transgenic mice was studied at different concentrations by circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, pulsating bubble surfactometry, mass spectrometry and reversed-phase HPLC. The results indicate that (Cys48Ser)SP-B, both in a phospholipid environment and in organic solvents, is largely monomeric and exhibits low activity at concentrations lower than 1 -2 microM, while at higher concentrations it forms non-covalent dimers, which are nearly functionally equivalent to native SP-B in vitro. Furthermore, electrospray mass spectrometry showed that more dimers were found relative to the monomer when the polarity of the solvent was decreased, and when the concentration of SP-B increased. (Cys48Ser)SP-B also eluted earlier than native SP-B in reversed-phase HPLC. Taken together, these results indicate that a polar surface is buried upon dimerisation, thereby promoting formation of interchain ion pairs between Glu51-Arg52' and Glu51'-Arg52.

[Computer-assisted acquisition and analysis of high-resolution spectrum].

Based on the unique characteristic of spectral line center in the whole spectrum and noise threshold, a computer approach and program for the determination of spectral line position and relative intensity automatically are presented in this paper. Exploring this approach and computer program, we pre-analyzed the partially overlapped 16 line TuFIR experiment spectra of CHF3. The results of line positions and intensities for these TuFIR spectra are in excellent agreement with the results by least-square fit with heavily manual inference. The accuracy and efficiency of this method and program will ensure their wide application in complex high-resolution molecular spectrum.

Removal of a dimeric form of surfactant protein C from mouse lungs: its acceleration by reduction.

Clearance of hydrophobic surfactant-associated protein C (SP-C) and its dimeric form ([SP-C]2) was investigated. SP-C and [SP-C]2 obtained from proteinosis patients were fluorescently labeled and were instilled into mouse lungs as lipid-protein complexes. [SP-C]2 was removed more slowly than SP-C, with apparent half-lives of 30 and 18 h, respectively. A significant amount of [SP-C]2 was removed as SP-C, and the conversion rate was 0.22 micrograms.h-1.mouse-1. By correcting the removal as SP-C, we obtained 38 h for a possible half-life of [SP-C]2. Conversion from SP-C to [SP-C]2 seemed very slow. Decrease in glutathione (GSH) in the lung inhibited the conversion of [SP-C]2 to SP-C and GSH-treatment of liposomes accelerated clearance of [SP-C]2. These results suggest that the removal of [SP-C]2 from lung is accelerated by reduction and that GSH acts as a reducing agent in the lung.

Effects of proteinosis surfactant proteins on the viability of rat alveolar macrophages.

Pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is a disease of unknown etiology that is characterized by the accumulation of protein- and lipid-rich insoluble material in alveoli and terminal bronchioles of the lung. Alveolar macrophages (AM) in PAP are reportedly extremely large and have low viability. We investigated substances in lavaged lung material from patients with PAP that induced these cellular changes in rat AM. Rat AM were incubated for various periods with liposomes prepared from lipids and isolated hydrophobic surfactant apoproteins, and cell size, viability, and lactate dehydrogenase release were determined. Of the hydrophobic apoproteins, a dimeric form of surfactant-associated protein-C ([SP-C]2) had the most marked effects. In addition, [SP-C]2 induced increased superoxide anion release at an early phase (6 to 12 h) and an increase in glutathione content at 24 h of incubation. At 3 d after incubation, cellular glutathione and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) content were significantly decreased in cells treated with [SP-C]2, [SP-C]2 was presumed to cause early cell death through increased formation of superoxide anion and the subsequent derangement of cellular metabolism. [SP-C]2 was not removed from cells, and SP-B and SP-C were removed at slower rates than lipids. The changes in macrophages induced by [SP-C]2 may contribute to establishing PAP.

Hepatic cavernous hemangioma. CT findings and pathological basis.

CT findings in 113 cases of hepatic hemangioma confirmed pathologically including 52 resected specimens and 8 autopsies were studied in correlation with the typical CT scan of 506 cases of the same disease. Mottling enhancement in the surrounding hepatic parenchyma of hemangioma which never appeared in other kinds of tumor was considered as a pathognomonic sign for diagnosis. It was correlated with the presence of dilated vascular spaces or sinusoids communicating with the tumor itself in the surrounding tissue. The thick wall and thin wall types of hemangioma were discussed.

Radiographic manifestations and pathologic basis of parosteal osteosarcoma. Analysis of 17 cases.

The authors reviewed the radiographic manifestations of 17 cases of parosteal osteosarcoma, with pathologic correlation in 15. There were two types of parosteal osteosarcoma radiologically. The majority of cases were type I with uniformly dense masses which had regular borders. They often adhered to the cortex and showed no evidence of soft-tissue invasion which correlated with low-grade pathologic malignancy and a relatively benign clinical course. Type II involved the bone, soft-tissue and the medullary cavity. These lesions were poorly differentiated and frequently accompanied by metastatic lesions.

Short-term multidrug therapy in multibacillary leprosy--review of 80 cases in two provinces of China (1983-1988).

Thirty-three active multibacillary patients from nine counties of Weifang Prefecture, Shandong Province, and 47 active cases from Menla County, Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China, were treated with 24 and 27 months of multidrug therapy (MDT), respectively, in 1983. Clinical assessments, smears, and histopathologic examinations were carried out independently by study teams from the Institutes of Dermatology of these two provinces. Reexaminations at 12-14 months and at termination of therapy showed marked improvement, and there was continued improvement at 12-18 and 33 months on follow up. Conversion of the bacterial index to negativity was 0/33, 5/47 for the patients from Shandong and Yunnan provinces, respectively, at the end of MDT and 2/33 at 12 months' and 17/47 at 18 months' follow up, which increased to 21/33 and 26/44 at 33 months' follow up. Regression of specific infiltration was about 21%-100% after 24-27 months of MDT; further regression to 95%-100% occurred at 33 months' follow up.

[The roentgen findings and pathological basis of parosteal osteosarcoma].

The roentgen findings of 17 cases of parosteal osteosarcoma were analyzed. In 13 of them, a patho-radiologic correlative study was conducted. The results showed that there was an obvious relationship between the radiologic pattern and the degree of malignancy. On roentgenogram, tumor with dense ivory bone as the main manifestation is mostly lower in malignancy, while cotton-like and spiculate tumor bone usually denotes higher degree of malignancy. The pathological basis of the radiolucent area inside the tumor, the satellite nodules in the vicinity of the tumor as well as the differential diagnosis were discussed.